Credit: The Associated Press

FILE - In this May 13, 2004 file photo, designer Kate Spade poses with shoes from her next collection in New York. Law enforcement officials say Tuesday, June 5, 2018, that New York fashion designer Kate Spade has been found dead in her apartment in an apparent suicide. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

Credit: The Associated Press

FILE - In this May 13, 2004 file photo, designer Kate Spade poses with handbags and shoes from her next collection in New York. Law enforcement officials say Tuesday, June 5, 2018, that New York fashion designer Kate Spade has been found dead in her apartment in an apparent suicide. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

NEW YORK — Kate Spade, a fashion designer known for her sleek handbags, was found dead in her Park Avenue apartment Tuesday in an apparent suicide, police said. She was 55.

News of her death shocked the fashion world and led to an outpouring of tributes from her legions of fans.

A housekeeper discovered Spade's body hanging in her bedroom, police said. While investigators were still in the early stages of their inquiry, the department's chief of detectives, Dermot Shea, said evidence including a note pointed to "a tragic suicide."